Esho Drench is a lip treatment created in collaboration with Deciem and Dr. Tijion Esho, cosmetic doctor. This product claims to offer lasting water hydration, unlike traditional lip balms that use “mainly waxes and oils to mask dehydration.”

Ingredients: Aqua (Water), Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil, Lactococcus Ferment Lysate, Panthenol, Glycerin, Polyurethane-34, Stevioside, Sodium Hyaluronate, Arginine, Glycine, Alanine, Serine, Valine, Isoleucine, Proline, Threonine, Histidine, Aspartic Acid, Phenylalanine, PCA, Sodium PCA, Sodium Lactate, Fructose, Glucose, Maltose, Trehalose, Xylitol, Xylitylglucoside, Anhydroxylitol, Polyglutamic Acid, Urea, Allantoin, Niacinamide, Rosa Canina Seed Oil, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Plukenetia Volubilis Seed Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis Leaf Extract, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Seed Extract, Hydrolyzed Caesalpinia Spinosa Gum, Caesalpinia Spinosa Gum, Copernicia Cerifera Wax, Propanediol, Pentylene Glycol, Tocopherol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Cetearyl Isononanoate, Cetyl Palmitate, Ceteareth-20, Ceteareth-12, Cetearyl Alcohol, Decyl Glucoside, Glyceryl Stearate, Carbomer, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Dimethyl Isosorbide, Ethoxydiglycol, Citric Acid, Triethanolamine, Aminomethyl Propanol, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium metabisulfite, Sodium sulfite, Sodium Chloride, Benzoic Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Aroma (Flavour).

Drench contains a number of oils, amino acids and sugars (I’m not sure I particularly want glucose and fructose by my teeth all day). Stevioside is a sweetener found in the stevia plant. Urea increases moisture on the skin’s surface, but can also be irritating. Acrylates/C10-30 binds to water and oil and is used as a stabilizer and increases viscosity. Trisodium ethylenediamine disuccinate improves the efficacy of preservatives and antioxidants. This uses phenoxyethanol as the preservative.

I’ve been using Drench for a bit over 3 months, 2 to 3 times a day. I’ve also been using Sculpt from Esho, a product that claims to encourage lip volume.

Drench is not an oily product, but a thick liquid treatment. It has a strong fruity, guava flavor (many people don’t like the flavor); I think it would be better in mint. It goes on smoothly and absorbs into the skin quite quickly, but leaves a bit of dry stickiness behind. I didn’t find this hydrating at all. While it didn’t make my lips worse than normal, they didn’t feel moisturized and I may as well not have had any product on. I ended up putting on another lip treatment, Quench, over the Drench for the last few days, and my lips felt hydrated and protected – Quench likely did the work though.

While the company seems to imply a lip treatment of waxes and oils only masks dehydration, oils can be very moisturizing and healing and waxes (like beeswax) can be conditioning and provide a protective barrier.

Esho Drench will not be a repurchase for me, and I’ll be sticking with my Quench from Your Best Face Skincare.